You kept your promise, says Omar Abdullah lauding Modi with statehood return reminder; PM mentions 'appropriate time'

In his address, Abdullah, the National Conference leader, lauded Modi for "keeping his promise" and holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in 2019.

"You kept your words and gave the people of Jammu and Kashmir the opportunity to vote. People voted in large numbers in the elections," said the chief minister.

Abdullah supplemented his praises for the prime minister with a reminder of the latter's other promise of reinstating statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, which was abrogated into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh five years ago.

"People often ask me when would Jammu and Kashmir get back its statehood? I tell them that I am confident that the prime minister, who held elections within four months of his promise, will also reinstate statehood," said the CM.

Responding to Abdullah's remark laden with praises, Modi called Jammu and Kashmir the "crown of India" and referred to the "appropriate time" to reinstate statehood.

"This is Modi who keeps his promises. Everything has an appropriate time. Correct things will take place at the appropriate time," said the prime minister.

Soon after the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results that delivered a victory for the NC-Congress alliance were declared, Abdullah was quick to recognise the importance of a coordination with the Centre, which is ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"We need to have coordination with the Centre. As many issues of J&K can't be resolved by fighting with the Centre," Abdullah had said after the results were announced.

He further emphasized the need for smooth relations with both the L-G and the Union government. "I will make every effort to ensure that the incoming government works for smooth relations both with the LG and the Union government."

Omar also noted that the NC would likely have performed well even without the alliance with the Congress. "The alliance with the Congress wasn't about seats for us. We would have won the seats without the Congress, except probably one of them," he had said in an interaction with India Today.

Though Abdullah made it clear that while there would be no sudden political alignment with the BJP, he said the administrative pragmatism was necessary. "The NC will not suddenly discover some love for the BJP and vice versa. We will continue to oppose each other politically," he explained. "I am drawing a distinction between the NC and the BJP on one side, and the J&K government and the Centre on the other."

The NC and BJP were partners in the past, with Omar Abdullah serving as a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government from 1999 to 2002.

In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the first state polls here after 10 years, the NC-Congress alliance won 48 seats with 42 of them credited to only Abdullah's party.

The BJP swept the Jammu region to bag a hefty 29 seats.